John Lewis PLC has been fined £9000 and ordered to pay costs of £31000 for failing to undertake a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for an activity undertaken by their maintenance team at their store in Cheadle, Stockport.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
Stockport Council’s Environmental Health Officers visited the site following notification of an accident involving a member of their maintenance team, which occurred in May 2011 at the John Lewis store on Wilmslow Road, Cheadle, while the building was undergoing a refurbishment.
The Council established that risk assessments did not address the particular work activity, so the actual process for controlling the risk was virtually non-existent.
A Stockport Council spokesperson said:
“Risk assessments are not a paperwork exercise, and should be used as a management tool to identify risks and trigger the need for robust systems and procedures to eliminate them from the work process – so far as it is reasonably practicable to do so. If there is a change in process, a revised risk assessment should be implemented to follow suit.
“This case should serve to remind managers of the need to be aware of what is happening in their workplace, and to react immediately if any issues are identified.”
The Council would like to alert other businesses of their obligations under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.